Striker nets penalty double on full debut to earn three points at Easter Road
Brendan Rodgers celebrated his new recruit Adam Idah when the new striker joined on loan from Norwich City, claimed he may fix their penalty problems in addition to proving he is capable of donning the No. 9 jersey.
This season, the Parkhead team has already missed four times from the spot; Luis Palma missed two in a recent game against Ross County.
However, Idah was the epitome of composure as he scored close to the beginning and conclusion of the champions’ crucial 2-1 victory over Hibs. The winner was added two minutes into extra time after Joe Newell’s challenge on replacement Kyogo Furuhashi sparked a VAR review.
Brendan Rodgers celebrated his new recruit Adam Idah when the new striker joined on loan from Celtic claimed he may fix their penalty dilemma in addition to proving he is capable of donning the No. 9 jersey.
This season, the Parkhead team has already missed four times from the spot; Luis Palma missed two in a recent game against Ross County.
Rendan Rodgers celebrated his new recruit Adam Idah following the newly acquired on-loan striker not only suggested he is capable of solving their penalty problem too.
“He’s taken six penalties before coming in so I knew what he could do,” said Rodgers. “He scored a great penalty against Holland for the Republic of Ireland. You just see how he addresses it and how he is. He knows he’s a penalty taker.
“Against David Marshall, who’s had a fantastic career in the game and is a top goalkeeper, there’s a psychological test there as well and he came through that. I’m really, really pleased for him. It’s a great night for him on his first start to score two goals and winning goals. I’m pleased for him.”
Asked if Idah has already proved he has the bottle to be a centre forward for Celtic, Rodgers said: “Time will tell. For me, it’s always about time. Players will always come in here with talent. We’ve seen it over many, many years.
“But to survive at Celtic you’ve got to have mental toughness, you’ve got to be strong. I’ll assess that over time. But to step up, especially so late in the game, to take that penalty and be so assured, it’s a great moment for him in front of our supporters.”
For the second time in five days, Rodgers acknowledged that Celtic was not playing at their peak. They were under a lot of pressure to win at Easter Road after a 1-1 draw with Aberdeen on Saturday, and they waited until the very end to secure an unlikely triumph.
“It’s good to get a win at Easter Road, that was nice,” said the manager. “I’ve been travelling around Scotland now for a wee while, so it was really good. I said to the players before the game, listen whatever’s happened before there’s 14 games left of the season.
“I said that tonight you’re not going to win the title, but you also won’t lose it….and you can make a big psychological impact by coming away to a tough ground and winning. We got off to a great start, had a lot of the ball.
“But (we were) not so creative as I’d like with that finesse and technical ability in the final third. However, we got through. Second half, not so good if I’m being honest.
“They pressed on to us well, so Nick (Montgomery) will be happy with that. We just lacked that bit of composure to play through that pressure which you need to do when a team presses you higher up the pitch.
“But what I never doubt about these players. I said to them before the game, to get through and win games we need to play with our heart and our soul.”